MainPeopleUnited States air force deserter found alive in California after 35 year manhunt

United States air force deserter found alive in California after 35 year manhunt

12 June, 2018

Hughes had been claiming to be an individual named Barry O'Beirne but admitted that he was actually named William Howard Hughes, Jr. and that he had deserted the air force, the OSI said.

Responding to Hughes' claims of deserting the air-force cause he was depressed, AFOSI spokeswoman Linda Cardsaid there were many more questions to be answered as the investigation continues.

He had been sent to the Netherlands July 18, 1983, to work with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation officers and was due back in Albuquerque on August 1, the Air Force said.

A U.S. Air Force officer with top-secret clearance was reportedly found 35 years after he was declared missing.

He has been living in California under a fake identity ever since his defection.

Hughes told authorities after his capture on Wednesday that he was depressed about being in the Air Force and chose to leave.

OSI agents assigned to Travis AFB in northern California went to his home and arrested the fugitive captain without incident. The only clue Hughes left behind was a trail of bank withdrawals, where he pulled out $28,500 from 19 different branches.

It was July 17, 1983, and the Air Force was sending Hughes overseas on a mission to help North Atlantic Treaty Organisation test aircraft surveillance systems.

He had just returned from a temporary assignment in The Netherlands, where he worked with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation officers on the Airborne Warning and Control electronic surveillance aircraft.

His mysterious disappearance during the Cold War spurred theories that he had been abducted by the Soviet Union or defected to what was then known as the USSR to work against the US.

After several rocket ship failures in the U.S. and France, including the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986, Los Angeles Times journalist Tad Szulc theorised Capt Hughes may have been to blame.

Hughes is charged with desertion and awaiting pretrial confinement at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, Calif.

"He is worth his weight in gold to the Russians in terms of future 'Star Wars, ' if we have them", the LA Times quoted an intelligence officer as saying.

In the years after Hughes went missing, a slew of NASA catastrophes, such as the space shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986, as well as the explosion of the Ariane rocket in French Guinea, caused national security commentators to speculate whether the disasters were related and possibly the result of Soviet sabotage. If convicted, he might face maximum penalties of dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and confinement of five years.

COMMENTS

Recent Posts

The Trump-Kim peace summit has been downgraded to a half-dayJun 12, 2018
He also shared a photo of himself and Trump and told the entire world that he's "honored" to call the president a friend. The talks are expected to be devoted to the future of Pyongyang's nuclear program and the lifting of economic sanctions.

Woman charged after allegedly putting children in pet kennelsJun 12, 2018
The children had also complained about the heat whilst they were kept in the confined space of the auto trunk, according to WREG . A Tennessee woman accused of driving her two young grandchildren around in pet kennels is scheduled to appear in court.

E3 2018: Square Enix reveals The Quiet ManJun 12, 2018
Alongside the Final Fantasy, Just Cause 4 , and Tomb Raider announcements, Square Enix revealed a new game called The Quiet Man . Platinum Games is best known for games such as Vanquish , NieR: Automata , and the upcoming Granblue Fantasy Project Re:Link.

What Justin Trudeau said that made Donald Trump angryJun 12, 2018
Meanwhile, Kudlow, speaking the " Face the Nation " on Sunday, said that Trudeau "should've known better." Minimum is 17B. The president ruffled feathers at the G7 summit , not backing down from stiff tariffs on aluminum and steel imports.

'Warehouse fire plot to damage democracy'Jun 11, 2018
A fire truck arrives at the scene of a blaze Sunday at a warehouse in Baghdad storing ballots from Iraq's parliamentary elections. Interior ministry spokesman General Saad Maan echoed him during a visit to the scene to the warehouse where the blaze was raging.